Netherlands Nonprofit Offers One Way Trip to Mars

Things once limited to the pages of science fiction are being played out in real life with an opportunity for people to travel to Mars to colonize the red planet. If the thought of leaving earth and flying to Mars on a one-way trip appeals to you, they are taking applications now.

Fly to Mars Is a One-Way Trip

Even the most adventurous will give pause before they fly to Mars on a one-way trip never to see Earth or loved ones again.

The plan is to fly four astronauts (one team at a time will be sent up) with the first landing slated for April, 2023, to establish a human settlement and the colonization on Mars. Subsequent teams are slated to fly additional 4-man fly teams at a cost of $4 billion per launch.

Who Can Apply?

Those who apply for a chance to be part of this one-way trip to Mars must be over the age of 18 and desire to spend the rest of their lives in space. Those selected as astronaut candidates are not required to have specialized technical backgrounds or language skills. They will have a few years to learn English if they don’t already speak it.

What they are looking for are qualities including intelligence, resourcefulness, courage, determination, and psychological stability.

“We want this to be a mission of humanity.” Bas Landsdorp Mars One co-founder and chief executive officer (Space.com)

Cost to Apply

The cost to apply is based on the gross national income of the applicant’s home country. With that criteria in place, fees to apply will range from $5 – $75. U.S. citizens would pay $38. In addition to application fees, the organization also has plans to raise money via a reality television show that will follow its astronaut selection and training process.

The idea of flying to Mars and leaving Earth for the rest of your life isn’t for everyone, but thousands of people have already applied. If you think this might be what you want to do with the rest of your life, you need to apply by July of 2015.

The flight from Earth to Mars will take 7 months. Lansdrop admits, “This will not be easy. There is a lot of engineering and testing to be done before the first humans will land. But no new inventions are needed to land humans on Mars. There might be delays, there might be cost overruns, there might even be failures, but it can be done.”

1 comment

How absolutely exciting and horrifying is the thought of doing this?! I’m so conflicted — I’d sort of like to go but I don’t think I could handle nearly a year in a tiny spaceship. So cool to watch this happen in our lifetime.